Gaining Momentum
by MissTonks21
Summary: Its astonishing how everything can be set off course by a well meaning stranger, even one who tried not to get involved. Nobody is where they should be and Albus isn't the only one worried. Not the usual self-insert.


Okay so this _is_ a self insert but that will not be the primary focus of the story and if you hate it you can always pretend that the OC is just a time-traveler or something along those lines, (or maybe just a really strange first year) I know most people hate them but I couldn't resist, sorry!

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Harry frowned in worry as his companion froze, gaze locked on one of the teachers. He prodded her side slightly.

"You okay?" He whispered, frowning worriedly, but the girl then shook herself a moment before giving him a slightly strained smile.

"Yes - sorry, it's just that he looks _really_ like Alan Rickman, and it's rather disconcerting considering how everyone else-" She cut off again, in the manner which Harry was quickly becoming accustomed to and, pretending to have understood what she had said nodded along. At that point Hermione began making her way up to the stool, chanting something under her breath and he suppressed a grin; that girl was weird but she seemed a good enough sort. The sorting hat seemed to debate for quite a while before eventually announcing Ravenclaw, Harry wasn't surprised, the girls had told him of the house stigmas and Hermione seemed like a bit of a know-it-all if he was honest. The girl beside him however let out a little gasp, looking horrified, Harry wasn't sure why she was so upset – the girl seemed insistent on getting into Ravenclaw earlier and certainly acted like she wanted Hermione as a friend as well, so why should she worry about not getting sorted in the same house? She was clever enough for it if her vocabulary was anything to go by. Still Harry himself was a little upset about the fact that the only people who he had managed to make friends with (ever) would probably be in different houses to him, he couldn't imagine himself clever enough to get sorted into Ravenclaw of all places.

Just then a horrible thought struck Harry - what if the hat, instead of sorting him, said there had been a mistake, that he had to go back to the Dursleys. He began to feel a bit nauseous and panicking slightly, missed Neville's sorting, but smiled when he saw him at the Hufflepuff table, distracted he almost missed when his companion's name was called but snapped to attention as she confidently (how could she seem so calm?) made her way up to the little old stool.

"Machiavelli, Alyssa"

As the hat fell over her eyes Harry was left to worry again, and as the minutes ticked by without the hat saying a word he became even more nervous, mutters were breaking out across the hall as people quickly became bored with the delay. Before the impatient murmurs became full out talking the hat made a loud snort-like laugh, which if the rest if the hall's bemused reactions were anything to go by, was highly unusual. Another minute ticked by and Harry noticed his almost-friend become much stiffer before the hat called out in a disturbingly gleeful voice.

"Slytherin!"

Alyssa stood stiffly but her face was annoyingly blank as she made her way to the table dressed in green and sat besides a smaller blonde girl who sneered at her. The applause was hesitant and seemed much less enthusiastic, and from what Alyssa had told him Harry could guess why. On the train, she had told him about the houses, more than Hagrid had at least. Not that he didn't like the man but Alyssa's descriptions were slightly more useful than - Gryffindor Good, Slytherin Bad. Even so he had paid enough attention (despite her habit frustratingly dance around some of his questions) to notice that an apparent muggle-born in the house of the so called 'blood purists' wasn't a good thing and Harry could see that she was worried underneath her icy exterior.

This, the blatant fear for this girl who had only helped him was probably what lead him to disregard the annoyingly pompous Malfoy's sorting and when the hat fell over his eyes concealing the whispering students, to desperately whisper 'Slytherin, Slytherin, Slytherin'.

'Slytherin eh?' A loud voice boomed and it took Harry a moment to realize that it was the hat, and it was talking into his head. The hat ignored his surprise - and really he should have stopped being surprised by such blatantly magical objects by now, and continued 'Hmm, difficult though. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. There's talent, oh yes. And a thirst to prove yourself. But where to put you?' Harry made sure to keep up his mantra. 'Slytherin, eh? Are you sure? You could fit well in Gryfindor if you'd prefer, but then again Slytherin could make you great. You know it's all here, in your head, and such loyalty to a friend is a Gryffindor trait. No? Well I suppose Slytherin _will_ help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that. Hmm, in that case Mr Potter, it would be a crime for you to be sorted anywhere but...'

"Slytherin!"

The whole hall went silent, and Harry suspected that his sorting had followed Alyssa's suspiciously long example. Nevertheless the mimicked her straight backed walk, tilting his chin back and making sure not to look nervous before plonking down next to Alyssa and giving her a small grin. Unfortunately she did not look amused and had, in fact gone very white and looked torn between strangling Harry and for a moment, outright crying. In all fairness she had warned him to not to get sorted into this house by any means - 'not because they're_ evil_ but it would, at this point be most advantageous to play the ideal Boy-Who-Lived - sorry, and there is a slight (here she snorted lightly) possibility that public opinion could turn against you should you not live up to expectations, at least unti- never mind' so her reaction wasn't too surprising, though Harry was beginning to suspect she was a bit of a drama queen.

Either way the hat had wanted him here anyway and he was going to make the most of it, while hopefully not loosing his first potential friend. His resolve didn't however prevent him from being nervous as the whole school seemed frozen in shock and he was inordinately grateful when he heard a sigh and then somewhat enthusiastic clapping from beside him which slowly spread around the hall. He did notice quite a few people on different tables refuse to clap but managed a small smile when Alyssa squeezed his hand under the table, at least she wouldn't be abandoning him.

After Zabini, Blaise finally got sorted into Slytherin and slid in next to Malfoy and opposite Harry the headmaster stood and, after a bizarre speech, clapped and mountains of food appeared. Harry couldn't help but gape, only managing to shut his mouth as Alyssa prodded him in the side and gestured to the food before putting some vegetables on her plate. He wanted to ask about the speech but felt uncomfortable with the thick atmosphere surrounding the table.

"Eat, you're skinny enough already"

He complied, even if it was a bit embarrassing he was grateful, as he was dreadfully aware of the bubble if silence around their little group and the whispers and stares (even glares) he was receiving made him feel incredibly awkward. Still he was glad Alyssa didn't appear to be mad at him anymore and was instead sending rather comical glares to the sorting hat. Eventually someone spoke up.

"Never expected a Potter in Slytherin," a ratty looking boy said questioningly, looking at Harry with an unreadable expression. Everyone within a few seat radius was carefully pretending not to listen although not had gone silent waiting for some kind of explanation which Harry wasn't especially inclined to give and instead settled on trying not to make a fool of himself by looking unimpressed.

"Oh?" He questioned lightly looking the boy in the eye. He shifted slightly and opened his mouth to speak when Zabini, Blaise interrupted giving Harry an assessing look.

"You will have to excuse Nott, he is dreadful at subtlety. Blaise Zabini - house Zabini." The rest of the kids had stopped any pretence of in indifference and were leaning in to listen to Harry's reply. Harry himself was rather wary as Malfoy had said something similar when they had met on the train and then proceeded to insult Alyssa and act like a general ponce, afterwards she said they shouldn't have so obviously brushed him off as it wasn't prudent to make enemies before even getting sorted but Harry wasn't going to stand by while someone acted like a berk for no good reason. Even so he understood that Zabini might be different and that even if he wasn't he didn't exactly want his whole house against him.

"Harry Potter, it's nice to meet you. Oh and this is my friend Alyssa - er, Machiavelli" He hoped, by making sure they knew he liked her, she wouldn't be insulted too much but he was beginning to feel uncomfortable under the weight of so much attention. Zabini smiled thinly and shook his hand but ignored Alyssa. Before either could speak again a pug-faced girl with pigtails butted in, sneering.

"I haven't heard of the Machiavelli's." She spoke with a superior tone obviously meant to insult and Harry stiffened in anger before Alyssa spoke, somehow managing to sound so condescending that Harry smirked a little. "Hn, well _you_ wouldn't have." Most of the table looked confused but understood that she had been snubbed, and didn't want to admit that they hadn't known either - risking looking ignorant. But then Malfoy jumped in, "She's just a mud-blood Pansy" he said with relish, a disgusted look on his face, like he'd smelled something terrible.

"Potter's just another blood traitor see - I don't know how they managed to sneak themselves into our house!" Most of the faced turned quickly hostile as they Harry didn't refute the statement, their eyes passing quickly over Alyssa with scorn. They didn't appear to be listening to the rest of Malfoy's rant but there was a subtle shift in the way they acted towards him, Malfoy had said something right. From that point on the first years made sure to exclude them from the conversation, though some occasionally gave the duo small glares and spoke loudly of how the sorting hat must be going senile. Alyssa touched his arm whenever he became angry enough to interrupt and so he managed not to blurt out a huge rant though he was going red with the effort of containing his anger. Zabini didn't look at him again, either to glare (like the others) or offer support. They sat in silence for the rest of the meal, both uncomfortable with drawing attention to themselves - Harry thought they both managed to hide their discomfort quite well though, under the circumstances.

When the feast was over they stood to follow the prefect, Harry expertly followed Alyssa's lead and ignored the other first year's congregation, which (what a surprise) excluded them both on the walk to the dungeons. Alyssa even struck up a quiet conversation with Harry on the walk down, managing to hiss at him to keep his wand on him when he went to bed. At that point he hadn't even considered the animosity defending to violence, though he supposed it was likely considering how the Dursleys treated him in their obvious hatred.

Why ever did he ask that stupid hat to put him in Slytherin?


End file.
